1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to M cells and an artificial skin sheet having excellent cell adhesiveness and anti-allergy activity.
2. Background Information
An artificial skin has been conventionally used after a severe burn, damage to the skin caused by accident, and a resection of a tumor such as skin cancer, or for a cleft lip, a cleft palate and such. A typical artificial skin is primary composed of collagen taken from dermis and tendons of cows and pigs.
After washing a wound thoroughly and removing unnecessary tissues, patching an artificial skin with a thread and such, and fixing it by pressing lightly is how to use the artificial skin. Then fibroblasts, which become capillaries and cells, penetrate into artificial skin sponges from subcutaneous tissues, and become close to the state of the original skin in two to three weeks.
Problems of the aforementioned conventional artificial skin are that there is little perspiration and hair growth from the patched area, it feels inferior, and it may darken. Thus, a hair transplant or a hairpiece is needed for areas such as the scalp.
The article “Severe Burn Cases and Skin Bank•Cultured Skin Artificial Organs Volume 37-1, 2008” has disclosed that an allogeneic skin (other person's skin), an artificial skin, and a dermal substitute are used as a treatment of a severe burn. This article has also disclosed that a cultured skin which proliferates cells as an example of the artificial skin.
Additionally, for the artificial skin composed of the cultured skin, 3T3-J2 cells are conventionally used to create a favorable culture environment.
While it is not directly related to the artificial skin, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-141995 has proposed that GP2 is specifically expressed in M cells (Microfold cells), especially in human M cells, and the GP 2 is used as a marker cell for M cells.
Here, M cells are scattered between absorptive epithelial cells of a follicle-associated epithelium covering Peyer patches, have a film form without microvilli, and capture bacteria and viruses. Also, GP2 is a glycoprotein expressed specifically in M cells, and it is reported that GP2 takes in enteric microbes as an endocytosis receptor.
Similarly, while it is not directly related to the artificial skin, International Patent Application Publication No. WO2012077811 has disclosed that galectin-9 has a function to act on immune cells, and to suppress an excessive inflammation by regulating immunity in the direction of suppression.